Dealerfire Blog

End of an Era in Auto Dealerships?

Ward's Dealer magazine has an interesting article on the future of independent dealers. With overall number of vehicles sold down, can mega dealers take over? Read the full article here.

What the customer is looking for....

iMedia recently published an article by Chuck Moran concerning online user trends in the automotive market, appropriately titled "User Trends: An Automotive Market Snapshot". It covers a lot of relevant information without getting you bogged down in reading a ton of stats. The article has an interesting section on how gas prices are really starting to have a major impact on the consumers purchasing decision. I'd be lax in my duties though if I didn't mention that the articles also highlights how the internet is considered essiential  by  consumers for doing their research before making a automotive purchase. You can read the artice here at iMedia's website.

Best practices for marketing vehicles online

I was speaking with a dealer today, and they are completely new to the arena of online marketing. They were asking a lot of questions about best practices, and one of the tools I provided for their education was a presentation developed by Autotrader.com. If you're new to selling/promoting vehicles online, or even if you'd just like a brief refresher course, this tutorial should be well worth your while. It discusses everything from the importance of writing good descriptions to taking appropriate photos.